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Ten Afghan civilians killed in NATO air strike

An Afghan man watches a television broadcast of U.S. President Barack Obama delivering his State of the Union speech, in Kabul February 13, 2013. Image by: OMAR SOBHANI / REUTERS

A NATO air strike killed 10 Afghan civilians, including five children, in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, local officials said, a toll that if confirmed is likely to raise tension between President Hamid Karzai's government and U.S.-led NATO forces.

Four Taliban fighters were also killed in the strike and five civilians wounded, he said. The strike occurred in the village of Chawgam and the 10 dead civilians were from two local families, Wahidi said.

In a statement, Karzai confirmed the incident and reiterated his view that air strikes on Afghan villages were not the solution to fighting terrorism.

"In Wednesday's air strike which was carried out by NATO forces, two houses were targeted where 10 civilians including women and children were martyred and four more wounded," the statement said.

There have been tensions between Karzai and his foreign backers following his October comments that the U.S. and its allies should go after those in Pakistan who support terrorism, and not fight the war in Afghan villages.

"We take all allegations of civilian casualties seriously and we are currently assessing the incident to determine more facts," an spokesman for ISAF said.

ISAF regularly states that it has reduced civilian casualties in recent years, and that insurgents such as the Taliban are now responsible for 84 per cent of all such deaths and injuries.

The air strike came within hours of U.S. President Barack Obama's declaration that he would be withdrawing half the U.S. troops in Afghanistan - 34,000 - by the end of this year.

That would be followed by further troop withdrawals next year which would lead to the end of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, he said.